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# Creating Tables in Markdown
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/markdown-table/
- Published: 2023-02-09T11:44:50.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-04T10:17:28.000Z
- Description: You can totally create tables in Markdown. The syntax may seem overwhelming at first but it's not that complicated.
- Author: Abhishek Prakash
- Tags: Markdown

Want to create a table like this in Markdown?

| Keys | List                                               |
| ---- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| \|   | Column separator                                   |
| \-   | Delimiter row to separate the header from the body |
| :    | For header alignment                               |

It's not that complicated if you [know the Markdown syntax](https://itsfoss.com/markdown-guide/). Let me show you how to add tables in Markdown.

## Add tables using Markdown syntax

In typical Markdown, a table must have a header. The header is basically the first row that is highlighted in bold letters. 

The header is separated from the rest of the rows with `-`:

```
|Header column 1|Header column 2|
|-----------|-----------|
```

There is no rule behind the number of `-`. You can just put one like this `|-|-|` and it will work the same. But keeping multiple ------ helps understand the table code better.

Once you have added the headers, adding the rows are simple. You just create columns in each row by keeping the text between |

```
|some text|more text|
|some text|more and longer text|
```

 Now, if I combine it, the table code looks like this:

```
|Header column 1|Header column 2|
|-----------|-----------|
|some text|more text|
|some text|more and longer text|
```

And the rendered Markdown table looks like this:

| Header column 1 | Header column 2      |
| --------------- | -------------------- |
| some text       | more text            |
| some text       | more and longer text |

Did you notice that text in the header is center aligned? That's the default behavior. You can change it with the help of `:`.

In the header separator, use `|:---|` to make the column text left-aligned and `|---:|` to right-align it. You can force it to center aligned with `|:---:|`.

Here's another example. Click on it to enlarge it:

![Adding tables in Markdown](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/02/tables-in-markdown.png)

Table in Markdown (click to enlarge) 

## Other ways to create Markdown tables

[Some Markdown editors](https://itsfoss.com/best-markdown-editors-linux/) allow adding tables in a graphical manner. That makes the job easier as it is not easy to remember the syntax for tables.

For example, the [MarkText editor](https://itsfoss.com/marktext-editor/) has an initutive interface that makes using Markdown easier.

![Adding tables in Markdown with MarkText editor](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/02/text-formatting-options-marktext.webp)

Adding tables in Markdown with MarkText editor

You don't need to install a new Markdown editor just for tables though. You may also use [online Markdown table generators](https://www.tablesgenerator.com/markdown%5Ftables?ref=itsfoss.com). Just enter the content of the table and hit generate to get the Markdown code for your desired table.

![Markdown Table Generator Online](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/02/online-markdown-table.png)

Adding tables in Markdown using online tools

There are plenty of [online Markdown editors](https://itsfoss.com/markdown-table/) to try.

[Best Free Online Markdown Editors That Are Also Open SourceMarkdown is a useful lightweight markup language and a lot of people prefer for writing documentation or web publishing. Many of us at It’s FOSS use markdown for writing our articles. There are several Markdown editors available for Linux that you can install and use. But, what if you![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSAnkush Das![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/08/online-markdown-editors.png)](https://itsfoss.com/online-markdown-editors/)

If you are new to it, please refer to [our beginner's guide to Markdown](https://itsfoss.com/markdown-guide/).

[Basic Markdown Syntax Explained \[With Free Cheat Sheet\]Learning markdown could help you a lot with writing for web. Here’s a complete beginner’s guide to Markdown syntax with downloadable cheat sheet.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSBill Dyer![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2021/04/markdown.png)](https://itsfoss.com/markdown-guide/)

Let me know if you have any questions.